


Morning, Noon, and Night

by theiamania



Category: Samurai Warriors, Sengoku Musou
Genre: #gRACIA NO, #gRACIA YES, Akechi Trademark Sad Face, At least in fic everyone is happy, Dear sweet KOEI, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gen, Gracia and daddy's girl issues, Gracia do u belong in this time period anyway, Hey let's pretend Yamazaki never happened, Hey let's pretend a lot of things never happened, Like Honnoji, M/M, Me and my doomed ships, Mitsuhide being a sadfacer even when he's kind of happy???, Motochika being an enabler, Motochika's advocacy against wearing shirts, Or a reality TV show, They should be on a sitcom, We can start from there, What am I talking about this is KOEI I'm dealing with here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-03
Updated: 2014-12-03
Packaged: 2018-02-28 00:07:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2711747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theiamania/pseuds/theiamania
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of drabbles/vignettes which focus on the trio of Mitsuhide, Gracia, and Motochika. Will have ships, happy times, lots of what-ifs, and headcanons a-plenty.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Morning, Noon, and Night

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Consider this collection of vignettes my official return to the fandom! Not that my heart ever left, but a lot of ~real life~ stuff happened, had to put a lot of my hobbies on hold for graduate school, yadda yadda, you guys know the drill. But now that I’m done with college and am working full-time, I am definitely yearning for the good ‘ol days again. I figure I can handle a small collection of self-contained stories before I jump into serious multi-chapter fics, though I do have plans lined up. Also hoping this will get me back into the RP groove so I can start looking for games and reviving my old accounts. Still need practice though, God knows how rusty I am ;; 
> 
> Anyway, TL;DR it’s good to be back! Let’s get this party started! Is put ya guns on still a thing? I’m going to assume it’s still a thing. 
> 
> For this fic, I’ll be using randomly generated prompts from the Cotton Candy Bingo Round One. I joined that like a year and a half ago, but I failed to finish even half of what was on my card. I think it’ll be a good place to start. More importantly, expect 100% Gracia-centric content. Expect Akechi/Chosokabe-centric content too. A bit of my own little ships here and there as well. Gracia has been my main muse since SW2:XL and that was released in 2006. You do the math but the point is she’s been with me for a while now :) 
> 
> Enjoy!

“My lord, must you encourage this?” Mitsuhide’s frown was set rather deeply, arms crossed lightly to show part-concern and part-irritation, but Motochika only responded with a chuckle.

“What of it, Mitsuhide? Will it not suit her? Is it not to your liking because it draws too much attention?” He smoothened out the silk and lace with practiced hands, and his fingers began pinching elaborate ribbons on the collar of the costume. He smiled indulgently and blew against the fabric. A cloud of glitter spurted from the surface and settled into the fine mesh of _tatami_ that made up the floor of Mitsuhide’s private quarters.

Mitsuhide raised his eyebrows, then sighed.

His initial instinct was to avoid answering the question, but when it came to Motochika he had no choice but meet his challenge with nothing less than honesty. He walked around the headless dummy sporting the most ridiculous outfit he had ever seen in his life as he drew his words out with heavy consideration.

“I find nothing _wrong_ with it…it is certainly a unique collection of clothes.” Mitsuhide tilted his head to the side. From which country did he import these again?

Motochika laughed heartily.

“That is one way to put it.”

“The details are quite elaborate as well.”

“Naturally.”

“It’s…well, I’m getting used to it?”

Mitsuhide was met with brief silence until he felt a pat on the shoulder. Motochika met his gaze head on, but instead of challenging him — as he was inclined to do most of the time — he offered the anxious father an encouraging smile.

“She will look spectacular in it,” he began confidently. And as Motochika was already attuned to the inner workings of his closest companion, he was also able to read the source of Mitsuhide’s unceasing frown with frightening accuracy.

“Do not allow your fear for her safety to overwhelm Gracia’s desire for adventure and life. She will be fine, regardless of whose attention she will inevitably draw. You must trust her once in a while, Mitsuhide.”

“That is easier said than done, my lord.”

Motochika kept close. “Nothing that was ever worth discovering or having was made to be easy.”

Mitsuhide closed his eyes for a moment. He felt Motochika’s comforting warmth draw away as he moved to rummage through other details of the outfit. His words stilled his heart and worried him to the core. It was not that he didn’t trust his only child; he just didn’t trust the world she lived in. People were quick to take advantage of any opportunity, they were blindsided by uncertainty that came with the times. And here he was allowing Gracia to take little glimpses of a land that was torn asunder by war, where men were conditioned to hate and to spill blood as naturally as batting an eyelash.

His darkening thoughts were interrupted by a set of footsteps rapidly approaching the duo. The _shoji_ slid open and Mitsuhide was met with a pair of arms wrapping themselves around his waist.

“Father!”

Mitsuhide rested his palm on her head. He noticed that she had yet to comb through her unruly red hair.

“Hello, my jewel*.” He paused. “Didn’t I tell you not to run in the hallway?”

 Gracia looked only slightly guilty, but the playful glint in her eyes remained. “I won’t next time, I promise father! I was just so excited to see what you had for me!”

Motochika chose this moment to make himself known, approaching the pair with long strides. He greeted Gracia with a similar pat on the head, and she embraced him in return.

“It would be more accurate to say that it was _I_ and not your father who planned something for you,” Motochika remarked while he carefully blocked the dummy from her view with the expanse of his broad chest.

“Ah, well this particular gift—” Mitsuhide began hesitantly. But he had no time to finish his sentence, for Gracia was already _beaming_ , her smile so wide and her eyes so bright, he felt as if he was seeing the sun. She clasped her hands together and approached Motochika with a spring in her step, eagerness unbound completely.

“A surprise? For me?” She said.

Motochika was quick to respond with the same amount of gusto. “Yes, and it is a special surprise at that.”

Gracia all but squealed.

Mitsuhide sighed again. “What do we say?”

His daughter straightened up immediately. “With all my gratitude, may I please see your surprise for me, lord Motochika?”

The warlord laughed and side-stepped to reveal a complete ensemble, where every inch of the design was covered in dark silk, lace, and embedded floral patterns. In contrast to the heavy use of black, Motochika decided to show patches of the Akechi’s favoured colour — purples, blues, hints of violet and white — and when Gracia moved around the dummy to examine more of the outfit, she discovered that certain parts of it gleamed when it caught the light, tiny refracting specks that stood apart from the stitching across the seams of the skirt and bodice. The sleeves were slim until the crook of the elbow, where the cloth flared open like an umbrella instead. The skirt was made to mimic the same design. The shoes had the same accessory as the headpiece. Gracia took it gingerly in her hands and openly stared at the whole thing with complete awe.

And what followed the dazed silence was a simple statement which Motochika anticipated. “Father, are you taking me with you?”

Mitsuhide stared at his daughter and all at once he understood that as much as he wanted to keep her inside for as long as he held breath, he really could not. Motochika was right; it _was_ special, because no one else could have worn such an outfit like it was their second skin better than Gracia. She embodied the very attire; when there was only night, he saw her smile lifting him up into the sky, breaking through the clouds and seeing only dawn. Like splashes of colour against a backdrop of black; like glitter stuck in the lining, sparkling wherever it went.  

He touched her affectionately on the cheek with the back of his hand.

“Perhaps…perhaps someday,” he answered quietly. Gracia lowered her head slowly, in growing disappointment. Motochika was content to listen.

He saw her expression turn crestfallen and Mitsuhide’s chest clenched at the sight of her so dejected. He thought about what he was going to say next, carefully, very carefully, and then he spoke again.

“But such an outfit would be wasted if you kept yourself holed inside here all day long. You may visit town in this attire.”

It was not everything she asked for, but it was something.

Gracia’s head jerked up and she stared at him in shock. Motochika smirked as if he too was revelling in victory.

“Do – do you mean that, father?” she stuttered, gripping her hands together. “You’ll let me outside?”

Mitsuhide nodded. “So long as you are chaperoned, even from a distance, and you _don’t_ in _any_ circumstance run away from them, then yes I will allow you to leave the castle.” A beat. “No hiding from them either.”

 His daughter nodded vigorously, jumping excitedly on the spot. “I won’t, they’ll know exactly where I’ll be! Oh, how wonderful! Think of all the things I’ll see! Think of the people I’ll be able to learn from! Father, oh father thank you!”

Mitsuhide allowed himself a gentle smile. “You’re welcome. Do not stray, my girl. You promised me.”

After all things were said and done, with Gracia hauling the whole dummy into her quarters with surprising strength, Motochika approached Mitsuhide once more and placed both his hands on his shoulders before he spoke.

“I’m proud of you,” he remarked. “The decision weighed heavily on your mind, but you chose to act against your instinct with steel-like resolve.” Motochika cocked his head towards the direction of the door. “She is happy.”

 Mitsuhide, who suddenly felt pangs of fatigue overtake him, leaned his forehead against Motochika’s shoulder. He kept his arms close to him, as if reassuring himself that he did the right thing.

He supposed that he did, in a way, even if he was still _so unsure,_ so frightened of what was going to happen tomorrow, the next day, the years to come.

“She is, isn’t she? She is easily pleased. I am glad for her simplicity.”

Motochika was steady, holding him firmly. 

"Being pleased and being happy are two different things, Mitsuhide. It is not as simple as pleasing her. You have gifted your daughter with something far more precious than new clothes. You have given her part of your trust. And she will hold you to that.”

The quiet samurai chuckled. “I thought the clothes were _your_ gift?”

Motochika threw his head back and laughed once more. He embraced him completely.

“Indeed. Then we have given her both of our trust, haven’t we?”

“May she do her best to keep it. Her stubbornness rivals yours sometimes.”

Time passed, and for a while, Mitsuhide was content to stay there, with Motochika’s warmth wrapped around him like a blanket of safety. Motochika made a move to transfer his partner to a more comfortable position, perhaps on the _futon_ , but Mitsuhide’s sharp tone broke the moment first. Motochika could only grin in amusement.

“Now my lord, will you _please_ clean up my floor?”

**Author's Note:**

> * Gracia's birthname, "Tama", means "gem/jewel" in Japanese. 
> 
> I probably stretched out the theme a little too thinly here, but I had a plot bunny inspired by SW4 Gracia's new costume, as well as the fact that in SW3:Empires, we find out that Motochika has a lot to do with how she dresses. TOO CUTE.


End file.
